New York Times Magazine features Chillicothe

"Who made that sliced bread?" is the feature title for an article published Sunday in the New York Times Magazine.

The magazine prints a regular column called "Who Made That?" Each week, the columnist tells the story of a designated object. Past stories have included the "escape key" on a computer keyboard, Velcro, dental floss, false eye lashes, and the military dog tag.

The sliced bread article recaps how Otto Rohwedder brought his bread-slicing machine to Chillicothe, Mo., in 1928 and put it to use in Frank Bench's bakery. The article also tells how the initial story was discovered by Constitution-Tribune News Editor Catherine Stortz Ripley, while working on a history book in 2001, and how the story was confirmed after she located the son of the man who invented the bread slicing machine.

Sunday's article provides broad exposure for Chillicothe.

"For the New York Times Magazine to publish a feature story like this is quite impressive," said Sliced Bread Committee Chairman Ed Douglas. "I think it shows that we are really building momentum on our quest to make Chillicothe a stop for tourists to visit the Home of Sliced Bread."

"Sliced Bread is important," he continued, "because it is the standard of all innovation, past, present and future."

The next milestone will be the completion of the documentary to be shown nationwide on public television, Douglas said. This is being done by an Emmy award-winning producer at Kansas City Public Television and is scheduled for summer completion.

An online version of the New York Times Magazine article was published Friday. It can be found at www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/magazine/who-made-that-sliced-bread.html